


Winter is coming

by Rapidnoob



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, And Season 8 Too, FUCK SEASON 7, Gen, Jon Snow is Not Called Aegon, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Smart Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister Deserves Better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:40:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27644267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rapidnoob/pseuds/Rapidnoob
Summary: Jon Snow wakes up in Winterfell before the death of Jon Arryn after being stabbed by Alliser Thorne & co. Can one bastard change the past and stop the Long Night from happening?
Relationships: Catelyn Stark/Ned Stark, Jon Snow & Arya Stark, Jon Snow & Robb Stark
Comments: 19
Kudos: 53





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This work is a mix of both ASoIaF and GoT.

Jon

Jon looked again at the message from Ramsay Snow. It made little sense, but what he could expect from a mad Bolton's bastard, which enjoyed **_flaying_ ** people and if the rumors are true, hunting girls after raping them. That disgusted him. Why does the bastard think that Sansa and this Reek are with queen Selyse and princess Shireen all here, at Castle Black?

He shrugged and almost prepared to burn the letter, when a brother bursted in. “The First ranger is back!” he shouted. Jon tossed the letter away and rushed out. Some brothers stood around the gate. He went to them without noticing Ghost trying to warn him of a danger. Jon managed to push through the brothers and saw a sign.

On it was written a single word: 'TRAITOR'. Jon blinked and turned with his mouth opened to ask what was that meaning, when the first dagger, held by Alliser Thorne stabbed his dagger deeply into his belly. “For the Watch,” he said as he walked a few steps away to make space for another brother with a dagger. It was Othell Yarwick. “For the Watch,” he repeated. Then Bowen Marsh repeated the same words and stabbed him too.

The last one with a dagger drawn was Olly. He stared at him with too much anger and stabbed him. He heard distant sounds of battle. The world around Jon started to fade, but he still heard the single line. _For the Watch._ The betrayed Lord commander felt coldness and darkness take him. _So, this is death,_ he realised. And after that, he knew nothing.

Bran

Bran looked around the Great hall of Winterfell. Mother, Father, Robb, Sansa, Arya and Rickon were all there, but Jon was nowhere to be seen. “Where is Jon?” he asked Robb and received a shrug. Sansa heard it and almost smiled in relief. “He maybe finally decided to leave us,” she whispered to Bran and only fuelled his curiosity.

He stood up after picking up a slice of bread with a bit of honey and walked towards the main door. “Bran, where are you going?!” Mother asked and scolded him in one go. “To find Jon,” he answered and continued to walk, not noticing a strange feeling of dread. It was almost unnoticeable, but still there in the back of his mind.

He almost reached the door, when Jory burst in. “My lord!” he shouted. “Jon Snow was found stabbed in his bed!” he continued after catching his breath. Bran heard chairs moving on the flagstone floor. Bran was shocked. Who would attack Jon? Mother and Sansa hated him, but not that much to buy and send an assassin on him. “WHAT?!” he heard Father shout in disbelief. 

Bran rushed out from the Great hall and in a few minutes reached Jon's room. He opened the door with his free hand, but he didn't see his brother inside. _Maester Luwin has him in his turret now,_ Bran thought and heard his stomach growl, so he munched down his honeyed bread slice. But, he never finished it as he saw a dagger with black edge lying on Jon's bed.

He walked towards it and noticed the simple hilt. It was made from some sticks and rope. Bran picked it up and felt someone touching his shoulder. He turned around and saw Robb with a worried look and Father behind him. “What is this?” he asked them as he showed the dagger.

But, he got no answer, instead he was grabbed by Father and dragged to the maester's turret.

Ned

He almost runned from Jon's room into the maester's turret with Bran and the strange dagger in his hands. When he finally found Luwin, the old maester was busy tending the wounds that even he found impossible to survive. _Sorry Lya, I failed you,_ he thought, but suddenly Jon's chest started slowly _moving._

Ned sighed in relief. That sigh caught Luwin's attention and he smiled at Bran, which showed the dagger. “Bran found it on Jon's bed,” he explained to the old maester. “That is Dragonglass! The hilt looks like it was made by Wildlings,” Luwin said after a while. _What is a Wildling-made Dragonglass dagger doing here?!_

“No blood stains are on it. I think that either Jon made it or he found it lying near a Wildling corpse or both,” the maester continued. “I will ask him about it later,” Ned announced and sent Bran to the Training yard without the dagger. “Tormund… Giants… Free Folk… Hardhome… Others… Wights…” 

Ned almost jumped, when he heard Jon's voice. But, the words made no sense. Others? Wights? Giants? Why was Jon talking about legends from the Old nan's stories? Hardhome and that Tormund seemed familiar to him. Free Folk were certainly Wildlings. “Nightmares involving Wildlings, Hardhome and the Others? That can be caused by his determination to join the Night's Watch,” Luwin whispered to him.

Ned nodded. _Promise me, Ned… Promise me…_ “I want to be here when he wakes up,” he announced and sat on a nearby chair, determined to be at his nephew's side and guard him until he wakes up and can stand up on his own again. _I promise,_ he thought. _I_ **will** _protect him._


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon wakes up in the past and Ol' Bloodraven starts interfering into the Game of Thrones that the Southern lord love to play so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own ASoIaF and/or GoT.

Robb

Robb sighed. It was three days after discovering Jon being stabbed by a mysterious assassin. And ever since that, he never saw Father leave his side. And he was now the acting lord of Winterfell. It was a much harder job than he ever imagined. But, today Mother relieved him of the boring duty to train his combat skills.

But, Robb went instead towards the maester's turret. He wanted to check both Father and Jon. He found them both asleep and muttering something. “I promise, Lya. I promise…” “Others… Hardhome… Giants…” Nothing made sense to him. Why would Father mutter about promising something to Aunt Lyanna? And why was Jon muttering nonsense from Old Nan's stories and the name of the Wildling village?

_ Could be nightmares, _ Robb thought and dismissed it almost immediately in Father's case. He almost walked out from the room, when someone gasped loudly for air. Robb looked at the bed and felt the unknown tension fade away. 

Jon

Everything was dark around him. But, he felt warm instead of cold.  _ What? How is this possible?!  _ And Jon saw glimpses of his life. Ygritte, Hardhome, Mance's army, the Wall…  _ You know nothing, Jon Snow.  _ Ygritte's voice rang in his head as clear as day. He tried to grab her hand, but she was suddenly out of his reach.

He managed to catch up on her, but she suddenly changed into the Night King himself.  _ For the Watch _ , the White walker announced in the voice of Alliser Thorne and reached with his hand for his icy sword to kill him. Jon instinctively slid his hand for  _ Longclaw's  _ pommel, but nothing was there. Even the Dragonglass dagger, which Sam returned to him, was missing.

_ Not today.  _ Jon blinked at the strange, old voice. The speaker was clearly male. And as the leader of the Others had his sword just an inch from his heart, Jon opened his eyes and gasped for air. He looked around the room, but saw only a part of it. It clearly wasn't Castle Black. “JON!” a familiar voice shouted and he found himself soon in a hug from Robb.

_ What the?! How is this possible?!  _ the Lord commander of the Night's Watch thought and just stared at his brother. “Robb…” Jon whispered, his voice weak. “Jon? Is he awake?” another voice asked. “Yes, he is,” Robb answered. And after a few seconds, the face of Eddard Stark showed up next to Robb's.

“We have much to talk about, Jon.” And the Bastard of Winterfell nodded without saying a single word.

Three-eyed Raven

He let a small smile escape his lips. Those bitchy Seven-who-are-One finally agreed with him and R'hllor and Many-Faced God about letting the Song of Ice and Fire finally happen. The son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark won't (hopefully) repeat his mistakes from the past and end dead.

Surprisingly, it was Many-Faced God, who agreed with him as the last active link to the power of the Old Gods of the First men, Giants and Children of the Forest, that there were too many unnecessary deaths. R'hllor agreed, when he revealed the murdered boy's identity as the  **TRUE** Azor Ahai of his.

The Seven-who-are-One were happy at first about another Old Gods' follower dead, but soon after learning the same fact as R'hllor they started slowly agreeing to get the boy back in time. With their support, he managed to get the majority to give Westeros one last chance.

Only the Drowned God and those Harpies, which loved slavery of all things disagreed. Their only safe bet was that another fallen God (R'hllor referred to him as the Great Other) bribed them to try and stall or completely stop the return of the only person that was prophesied to win against the Long Night.

“Bloodraven, he woke up,” his most trusted friend and informant, a Child of the Forest, called Leaf, announced. “Good. I will talk to him later. Through the Heart Tree in the Winterfell Godswood,” the being once known as Brynden 'Bloodraven' Rivers answered and passed the message to Seven and R'hllor. They needed to know this to start sending warnings of the return of the Others to their followers.

And after that, he heard again the Song of Ice and Fire in his head. It was a soothing and calming presence, which helped him think clearer.  _ And, R'hllor?!  _ _ YES?!  _ _ Keep an eye on Daenerys Targaryen. She is supposed to destroy the Harpies. I will do the same with Theon Grayjoy.  _ _ I will do it, friend. Good luck. _ _ I wish it to you too. _

**_We'll keep an eye on Robert Baratheon. He is a good warrior._ ** _ I appreciate this. To survive, we need to stop the Stars and Swords from rising to power too. Do not forget about them.  _ **_We won't. If they will rise to power, Westeros will fall apart._ ** _ And your Great Sept will be blown up by the queen.  _

**_I will keep an eye on Essos too. When the time is right, my followers will either help with the problem or fade away as your visions showed. But, not today._ ** And after that, he ended his small talk with his allies. “Leaf, send one of your brothers to Mance Rayder's army. They are near the Wall and on the opposite side of the lands Beyond the Wall than the Night King's army of Wights. But, they need to gain access to the Black Gate in Nightfort as soon as possible. The boy will help them after that.”

The Child of the Forest nodded and disappeared into one of those many adjacent tunnels that led to another (and also smaller) caves and the exit. “We have just three years left, until the Long Night happens,” one of the nameless former Three-eyed Ravens announced in an emotionless voice.

He expected bad news from one of them, but not  **that** bad. Three years were less than expected. At least, they were lucky enough to gain that extra year after the mutiny, in which the last trueborn male Targaryen died, was supposed to happen. That was the dumb luck of all Aemons. They all ended either dead or giving up their positions on that cursed chair.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon and Ned have a talk, find the Direwolf pups, Catelyn brings some news and a Child of the Forest attempts to deliver Bloodraven's message to Mance Rayder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own ASoIaF and/or GoT.

Jon

Jon walked out from the Maester's turret with his torso bandaged a few hours after he woke up. Maester Luwin also told him to use a cane to support him for the next week, because the pain from his almost healed wounds was too much to bear on his own. And he listened to his advice.

Finding lord Stark's solar in the Main keep was easy for him, due to visiting it quite often. Of course, Sansa or Lady Stark were hiding (as always) somewhere just to make his life even bigger hell than it already was.  _ I can always go again to the Wall and retake my wows, join Mance and Ygritte or leave for Essos,  _ he thought and resisted his urge to smirk. The last thing he wanted was adding fuel to Lady Stark's hate.

Soon, he found himself next to the door and knocked. “Enter,” Lord Stark said from the other side and Jon opened the door. “Ah, Jon, I was not expecting you out of maester Luwin's care,” he announced, when the former Lord commander of the Night's Watch entered the solar. “You wanted to see me, Father?” Jon asked after he closed the door and turned in time to see Lord Stark nod.

“Jon, I want to ask you something,” he said. “But before that, you need to join the Night's Watch. You will be safe there.” Jon blinked in response. Only now he noticed why Lord Stark wanted him to be at the Wall. “Join the band of rapists, murderers, exiles and old men? I don't know.” Jon carefully countered with his hard-earned knowledge from the last time he was there. He made some friends, but they probably all died right after the mutiny (except Sam) and Thorne became the Lord commander.

He noticed that Father was shocked by this answer. “Only Uncle Benjen and Lord commander Mormont with maester Aemon seem to be the last honourable men at the Wall, if I remember correctly,” Jon continued after a few seconds. Lord Stark gave him one of his famous rare steely stares, which made men tremble with fear. Allies and enemies alike. But Jon responded with his own stare, which he learned from watching both Mance and Stannis. A stare of a ruler, filled with seriousness and authority that did not accept no as an answer to his orders.

Lord Stark tensed up and opened his mouth to say something, when ser Rodrik entered the solar. “Lord Stark, one of our patrols caught another runaway from the Night's Watch.” Jon's hand slowly made its way to the sheathed Dragonglass dagger.  _ Here it comes. He saw them and spoke the truth, yet no one believed him. But, that also means meeting Ghost again!  _

And Jon yet again fought his urge to smile. He knew that this move would earn him a badge of a madman, who loves executions. Another thing he wanted to avoid. He must warn Westeros against the true enemy and not be marked a madman. Capturing a Wight or an Other should do it. But that also means joining forces with Mance and helping Free Folk get to the (for now) safe side of the Wall.

But, he also needed a Valyrian steel sword to stand a better chance against them. Jon already knew about the hidden cache of Dragonglass near the Fist of the First Men and arming some Free Folk with it would prove useful. Tormund and Ygritte with Val (and Mance too of course) will be of much help to him with the quest and also should earn for the rest of Mance's men, Giants and spearwives enough pardon to get settled in the Gift and New Gift and (maybe) man the Wall too.

“We will resume this talk later,” Lord Stark announced and gestured to him to get prepared for the journey to the executing place in the ruins of an old First men-made building.

Ned

Ned noticed that something was off with Jon, when they talked. It looked like his eyes suddenly got older and even the way his nephew carried himself was more sure.  _ Sure like a battle-tested warrior and seasoned commander of an army.  _ And if you say that this thought unsettled him, it was understandable. 

When Ned swung Ice and beheaded the runaway, he glanced at Bran and resisted his urge to smile. He didn't look away. He was proud of him to look at the execution with only a small flinch, which could become turning his head away, if he didn't control himself. Ned walked to his horse and heard Jon say “you did well.”

He almost gave the order to depart, when Jon suddenly sent his horse into a gallop with Robb in tow. Bran and Theon followed the duo, so he silently cursed and rode back home to Winterfell. But, the ride suddenly came to a halt, when Jon jumped off his horse and went into the woods to the right.

Ned found him kneeling beside a wolf… No. That was not a normal wolf. A Direwolf. A Direwolf with five puppies. “Bran, give me that… thing. I will end its suffering,” the Grayjoy said and pulled a dagger to kill one of the small Direwolves, only to be stopped by Jon. “There are five Direwolves. A Direwolf is a sigil of House Stark. You have five children, Lord Stark. It is a sign from the Gods.”

“Father, please,” Bran pleaded. “Alright, you will train them yourself, you will feed them yourself,and if they die, you will bury them yourself,” he announced and almost turned away, when he noticed Jon smiling and picking up an albino Direwolf. It was also the only one with opened eyes. They were red. Red like the leaves on the Heart Tree. “Hello, Ghost,” Jon said to the pup and walked back to his horse.

_ Well, I definitely need to stay in the Godswood a bit longer. _ And with those words in mind, he kept silent for the rest of the ride to Winterfell. The Old Gods might give him an explanation about all this.

Catelyn

She knew that she would find Ned in the Godswood. He was always there after an execution. Even after all those years she felt uneasy in this place. She felt like something or someone was watching her. The feeling only got worse today. She tried to ignore the presence and found Ned on his usual place, where he was cleaning Ice.

The wind suddenly changed around the Heart Tree.  _ Catelyn Tully, we have been expecting you. _ She looked around, yet saw no one. That was maybe her imagination.  _ It is not your imagination. We know about the news you bring.  _ Ned didn't seem to do anything. The Old Gods somehow chose to speak with her! But, that was not possible! She was a follower of Seven-Who-Are-One!

_ Brynden Rivers was also a follower of Seven, but he later converted, thanks to his Green dreams.  _ Catelyn was surprised. The voice somehow knew about her thoughts!  _ I will need to pray to the Mother and Crone for guidance,  _ she thought. “-Elyn!” Ned's voice shouted at her and brought her back to reality.

“I bring grave news, my lord. Jon Arryn is dead,” she announced. Ned's eyes showed sadness. His old friend and mentor was also his goodbrother. Suddenly, the  _ bastard  _ walked around her and knelt before the Heart Tree. How dare he come here?! He must leave Winterfell now! Oh, Ned talked about sending him to the Wall in a few weeks.

When she heard about his miraculous survival of four definitely lethal stab wounds, she was angry and wanted the Stranger to take him away. If he died, she would reward the killer generously for wiping out the stain on her honor. But the killer was never found… Such a shame.

“If Jon is dead, Robert will search for a new Hand,” Ned realised. “He is already on his way here.” Catelyn stared daggers at the  _ bastard _ for saying it. “H-how do you know it, Jon?” Ned asked. Snow only shrugged. “You were close friends. I can only guess that he chooses you over Lord Tywin, Father.”

That… made sense. But this answer reminded her of the times when Snow outsmarted her Robb during history lessons with maester Luwin. Bastards only want to steal the positions of Trueborns. Blackfyres were the best-known example of it. She wanted to yell at the  _ bastard  _ to go to his room and not come out until the King rode back from Winterfell to King's Landing, but she resisted the urge to do it. Ned loved Snow enough to save him from her fury at times.

And now, she must help prepare Winterfell for the arrival of King Robert, his family and half of his court.

Grasseye

He travelled non-stop from the Three-Eyed Raven's hideout and already killed several Wights. The Night King wanted to stop him from delivering the message to Mance Rayder and his army of Giants and humans. Thanks to his Direwolf friend Blackfur he was able to travel faster than on his own feet.

He was also aware of the Wanderer's presence. The ancient half-Wight acted as his rear guard, but he was now at least a few hours' ride on Blackfur away. Suddenly, one of their creations showed up to his right. He felt its anger. It made the air colder than before. Luckily for him, it was not the Night King. Only one of the newer ones. Former son of Craster, the Others' worshipper.

“If you will run faster to shrug him off, I'll get you two fresh stags on top of the promised one,” Grasseye whispered to his companion. Blackfur was intelligent, so he redoubled his efforts to run as fast as he could. The son of Craster still followed them and was literally breathing on their backs.

“Argh! Damn it!” Grasseye cursed and threw a Dragonglass dagger at the Other. The luck was on his side and the nameless Other screamed in pain. The Child of the Forest quickly glanced on the place, where the Other was and saw only a small pile of snow and shattered ice with the handle of his dagger peeking out.

But, he didn't celebrate too long. It was his first kill of an Other, true, but there were at least hundred more of them. That, and also his sudden fall from his Direwolves' back. An icy spear pierced through Blackfur's belly and the Direwolf already bled to death. Grasseye grabbed his small oil-filled jar and threw it at his dead friend to avoid having a Wight coming from behind.

Grasseye runned south with his quest as his only motivator. But, soon it was supported by desperation and hope, when he felt smoke from a fire. No. Not one fire. It was at least a dozen campfires! He made it in record time to the Milkwater! But, as he was in sight of the fires, pain started in his chest without warning. He was wounded.

And as he started blacking out, he blamed himself for not being fast enough to deliver the message.  _ Sorry, Leaf. I almost made it.  _ And after thinking that, he saw a big black shadow gently picking him up and finally blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, Jon will regret his fast riding in this chapter later in this story.


End file.
